Sportico, in partnership with Sports Innovation Lab, presents a bi-weekly series of conversations focused on thought leadership, innovation and action - where no topics are off the table and all questions are in bounds.
Co-hosted by Sportico Editor-In-Chief, Scott Soshnick and Sports Innovation Lab’s President and Co-Founder, Josh Walker, the Ask ____ Anything series unites the sports business community through conversations with the impact players and visionaries that lead the industry, while charting the course for the future of leagues, teams and related businesses.
Presenters
John Levy
Founder and CEO, theScore
A highly successful and experienced media entrepreneur, John has built theScore into one of the most exciting and forward-thinking companies in the sports media and betting industry. His visionary approach led to theScore becoming the first media company to create and launch a sportsbook, offering a completely unique and deeply integrated experience that fuses media and betting. This innovative model and strategy has helped theScore Bet secure access to key markets across the country as its operations continue to grow. theScore Bet is now live in New Jersey, Colorado, Indiana and Iowa.
John initially founded theScore cable television network in the mid-1990s, growing it to become Canada’s leading independent sports broadcaster. Following its sale to Rogers Media in 2012, John carved out theScore’s digital assets and evolved them into one of the first multi-sport news and data apps in North America. The widely popular theScore app is now used by more than four million fans a month. Previously, John led the development and growth of his family’s cable television business, Cableworks Communications Ltd., a leading multi-system cable operator in Canada.
Josh Walker
Co-Founder and President of Sports Innovation Lab
Josh Walker is Co-Founder and President of Sports Innovation Lab where he oversees the company's innovative and proprietary market intelligence platform. Through market analysis and unbiased research, he empowers brands to develop and implement game-changing, breakthrough experiences in a new age of sports and entertainment fandom. His work at Sports Innovation Lab represents the convergence of his career as a researcher, advisor, entrepreneur, and sports journalist.
A former Vice President of Research at Forrester, Josh was responsible for launching the company’s Forrester Wave evaluation framework, designed to accelerate innovation by connecting technology buyers with the best vendors.
After Forrester, Josh spent time as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at General Catalyst advising fast-growing companies including Brightcove, Kayak, and Demandware. He soon became a serial entrepreneur himself, using his passion for technology and data to launch and grow several venture-backed companies such as CityVoter, Comlinkdata, and Stattleship.
Josh is a graduate of Middlebury College and resides in Cambridge, Mass., with his wife and two sons.
Eben Novy-Williams
Sports Business Reporter, Sportico
Eben Novy-Williams is a sports business reporter and podcast host at Sportico, a news venture launched earlier this year by Penske Media.
Prior to joining Sportico, Novy-Williams spent nine years covering the intersection of money and sports at Bloomberg News. His writing has appeared online, in Businessweek magazine and in newspapers across the country. He was also co-host of the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast.